Some people don’t believe in listing New Year’s resolutions because they feel it doesn’t help them as they may not be able to keep to their resolutions, or, they aren’t interested in such things. Fret not fellow readers, you aren’t alone! Over here in Live & Inspire, we don’t have a list of goals set up at the start of the year, rather, we have goals for ourselves every week. We call it, “Track for Growth”. It’s a tool that we use to list down and track our daily to do. We have a list of things we want to accomplish for the week, and we measure our productivity against time. It is a simple way to derive an analysis of how effective and efficient we have been with what we would like to do every day so we evolve and nurture ourselves. Track For growth is a tool used to provoke personal responsibility. It will consist of the things an individual wants to create and what has been assigned to him or her to execute. It tabulates the resources needed, the projected duration of the task, and the outcome involved. Some of the many pointers as we use Track for Growth:

a. Be outrageous with your creation. Exercise the creator within.
b. Think 10 steps ahead of your everything (i.e – client, projects, research). Exercise initiative.
c. What you are creating must nurture you and the world around. Provoke the source within.
d. Play must be part of your list. Provoke creative intelligence.

At the end of the week, it gives insight to how effective we have been and how much we have participated in growth. A reminder of how effectively we have progressed is always a good thing.

Having a certain a mount of goals set for yourself every month/week/day would be an effective way to challenge your boundaries, and expand your potential – mentally, physically and emotionally. How can you provoke your growth, creative intelligence and flow? Participate.

If you’ve never been one to pick up a book, pick one up! Try out new music genres, don’t stay within the safety zone. If you’ve never written a letter to someone, it’s not too late to try. If you want to travel but never seem to have the moolah stacked underneath your mattress, make it a point to save a little bit of money every month so you can enjoy yourself later. Pick up a new language. Instead of depending on your trusted digital camera or iPhone camera, go back to traditional photography by using film!

In a nut shell, learn and explore something new. It would expand your horizon of experiences, knowledge coupled with creativity. Here’s a snap shot we’d like to share.

(photo was taken here)

There’s a version of the same list in video!

So don’t feel bad if you’re not following the orthodox way of Resolutions, try something new! The team at Live and Inspire would like to wish all our readers, fellow Facebook members and Twitter followers, a Happy New Year. We hope this year will be spectacular for each and everyone of you.

I own nothing.

My home isn’t mine.
It is simply where I live.

My achievements,
are gifts to me.
They do not belong to me.

My sisters are not mine.
I was born into a family.
I had no say in this.
Our paths crossed.
But I do not own them.

My feelings,
are like clouds.
They come and go as they please.

My physical appearance, it is not me.
I dwell somewhere deeper.

This body is a vessel.
Emotions fleeting.
Relationships are like waves.
Gifts, reminders.
Possessions wither.

I don’t belong to anyone nor anything.

I am not theirs.

I am.

Follow Nell-Lynn at
facebook.com/InsightsofNin
facebook.com/VoicesofNin
voicesofnin.blogspot.com

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Follow Insights of Nin at facebook.com/InsightsofNin

As the final article in my series of articles, I approached Ehsan who had also taken the plunge into the frightening world of pursuing his creative ambitions to write a segment on how he came to take this step.

Ehsan:
I sent in my 3 month notice (sealed in a blue envelope since it was the only one available) resignation letter on a beautiful morning in March. I went in, met with the director in the meeting room, and gave him the envelope. We talked about my decision for a while before I left to tell my team. On the way down, I glanced at the face of one of the animators hard at work, and I realised that I spent all night thinking that this being one of the riskiest steps I have ever taken, but to him, it was just another Wednesday.

Well that’s life for you. My leap of faith did not begin with foreshadowing that led to a huge momentous moment, but with a letter in an envelope. There was no orchestral music in the background, just the sound of my own footsteps and the fading click-clacking of keyboard presses as I went down the stairs. No applause or jeers, no end credits or a fade to black. Still, I should have totally put on Clint Marsell’s Lux Æterna on my Walkman as it happened. Goddamnit.

The next 3 months were spent writing and tying up loose ends workwise. I decided to keep the whole thing quiet and most only knew of the decision on the last month. It was great, to be honest. I spent a little bit more time with my close friends than before. I knew some of them since my first week of University, and we trudged through the heavens and hells of animation production together and personally, they were one of the reasons why I wouldn’t want to resign. Yet dreams are dreams, and the biggest regrets we have are the ones where we allow dreams to remain as dreams in our sleep.

I have always wanted to write, to tell stories ever since I read the epic drama about Peter and Jane, and their dog Pam. Still I have always chickened out, and went in a chase of more parental-approved dreams such as being a scientist, an engineer, or something-something in the field of information technology. But my textbooks were always filled with more doodles than numbers and fiction rather than facts, and I was getting more and more depressed. For a while I blamed my parents (They pushed me into this mess!), and then I blamed the Malaysian educational system (It’s still stuck in the age of the industrial revolution!), but then slowly I realised the only person to blame is, myself.

In theology they call it free will, our ability to make choices in life. I realised that I could if I wanted to, just started out in a journalism course 6 years ago, or written a novel. I could have chosen, and what has really stopped me all these years was myself. Paralyzed by the fear of what-ifs, the ultimately problems of no existence. Life is what you make for yourself, and you only get one shot at it anyway; why not spend it doing what you really want?

Now seriously, I have no idea how I will make it as a writer because you know, it is called a leap of faith for a reason. Yet I realised that I am not going into this for money or fame, but to write and tell stories of all sorts. As long as there is a medium for storytelling, be it like this article, a script, or comics, I am glad to just write for whatever reasons there are in the world.

I admit that sometimes it feels like I am constantly staring into an abyss. I had promotions to look forward to and paychecks that come monthly. Now it seems like everything is in a constant state of chaos and the future in shards to be placed back together again. One by one, the pieces have to be picked, and placed in the order I want it to be, but it will be done. After all, what do I have to lose?

And here I am at the point of the leap, before I will start to fall or rise to the sky. And I suppose well, this is the part where it gets interesting.

Geronimo.

Ehsan Azharuddin worked as a screenwriter and audio designer for a computer-animated film “Geng: The Adventure Begins” and its spin-off series, “Upin & Ipin” for Les’ Copaque Production. He then helped helm the marketing department of the company before being the General Manager of the gaming branch, LC Games Development. He is now pursuing his dream of being a full-time writer and screenwriter. You can reach him via Twitter or facebook.

His heartfelt account would definitely get those of you who are teetering on the brink of “should I? shouldn’t I?” Another article of Maria Brophy’s – Why You Should Have A Death Wish – which I re-read recently also seems appropriate here.

Life is full of surprises; some welcomed, some much less so. Circumstances may change in a blink of an eye or with a word or two and you’ve to ask yourself this, “Am I doing what I love doing, or am I just doing what I’m doing as it’s expected of me?”

I hope that these articles have in some way inspired you to look into pursuing your passions and dreams. I would like to leave you with a short poem that would hopefully give you that nudge forward.

Don’t be afraid

Don’t be afraid to express

how you feel,

Don’t be afraid to pursue

your hopes and dreams,

however futile they may seem.

Don’t be afraid to explore new

avenues and horizons,

Don’t be afraid to fight for what you believe in,

or care for,

it is always worth it in the end.

It may not be easier,

the right path is very rarely one

paved with roses and gold,

but one thing is definitely clear,

Don’t be afraid…….

(Angelia Ong, 1996)

Thank you for reading my articles and for the support. Pursue your dreams as it is what the foundation of life is made of.

I was sitting alone looking at the dark sky,

when the Moon appeared from behind the clouds.

I hadn’t thought I’d see her tonight so I was delighted.

I smiled at her

and she came closer.

She whispered,  ‘ why do I always see you alone? ‘

I was touched by her question, as I didn’t think she had noticed.

I said to her;

‘No one quite knows me as well as aloneness, Moon, and I don’t suspect anyone shall. I found a freedom which I have never experienced in the company of another like I have when I am alone. I don’t have to make up any excuses for how and who I am. Often, I sit in silence thinking about nothing and sometimes about everything. No one questions me, because I am alone. I may sound selfish but what harm am I doing to another? I would never be able to have these conversations with you Moon, if I wasn’t alone. People would just assume that I’ve gone mad. So you see Moon, in this solitude, there is an abundance of gifts that I have come to know through simply being able to be who I am. These are the gifts from aloneness. ‘

After interviewing Maria Brophy for Part 1, I thought over how I would write a follow up to that article. I will admit that there were more rejected drafts than salient points that I wanted to cover. I didn’t want to sound preachy, or do a “oh you guys just HAVE to do this or else you’ll FAIL” article, hence the metaphorical drafts scrunched up and thrown in the wastepaper basket.

It can’t be denied that local creative people have garnered a reputation of not being good at managing businesses or capitalizing on their creative talents to grow their business. I’m sure that there are many of us who understand how that came about. However, we shouldn’t be allowed to shrug our shoulders and say, “oh, well, that’s just the way creative people are” and nothing changes. Our industry and community can only grow by those who show the way, that you CAN be creative and entrepreneurial without screwing anyone over. After all, what’s entrepreneurship without creative flair?

Being a creative entrepreneur doesn’t mean that you have to have a swanky office and a group of bright- faced cheerful employees. It means that you run your own business, using what resources, skills and talents that you have. As a creative person, you tend to have to be that more resourceful in order to forge ahead. I call it being “#resourcesmart”. So what does that mean?

1.)Identify your resources:

What can you afford? What can you do without for now? Bootstrap (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootstrapping) your business where you can.

If you are setting up an office, you don’t necessarily need new furniture and other items. Pre-loved items, refurbished items, sourcing for what’s required and what you can do without can be fun!

Look out for co-working spaces and the packages they offer, this definitely can help you with costs and still maintain a professional space.

2.)Identify your expertise and accept your limits:

You can’t do everything, tempting as it may be. Accept what you can do and then do it well.

3.)Scheduling and Professionalism:

Keep to deadlines, even when you propose to clients, add a buffer timeframe in case of any eventuality. We have to be realistic, life can get in the way of work at times and as creative entrepreneurs, we need to find that balance. Keep to what we agreed on to the client and make sure that we give them the quality expected, no matter how we feel about the project personally.

4.)Communicate:

It is important to keep the lines of communication open, more so with your clients. Give them progressive reports, especially in the beginning so as to ensure that you are on the right track. Also, communicate with the people you work with so people don’t feel that you are keeping them in the dark.

5.)Paperwork:

This is a necessary evil. Much as we prefer to work with the “my word is my bond,a handshake will do” casual style, we need to ensure that we are protected and things are spelled out clearly from project briefs, quotations, invoices and so on. This is especially useful when the dreaded Taxation comes into play, whether you are a sole proprietor, partnership or a Sdn. Bhd. (limited company). It’s a minefield out there but once you get processes going, it does get easier. Arm yourself with information and requirements and have someone advise you on accounts and taxation. Forewarned is forearmed as they say. This is definitely a point that many of us struggle with!

This is also a way to protect your work, ensure that you maintain copyright of any work that you’ve done, especially creatively, no matter how attractive the deal, you should hold onto your copyright. This is something sadly missing from the thought processes of our creative industry.

6.)Community and Collectives:

Referring to the ‘Know your limits’ point above, this is especially important. Even if you can’t do it yourself, you may know someone who can. This is where being a part of the community or a creative collective reaps its benefits. Reach out, be involved with your community, if we don’t support each other, how would our industry grow?

Making connections and knowing what each other’s expertise are will help you gain more projects. You may not be able to do the project yourself but depending on what you agree with your colleague, you can pass the project onto them, either for a small fee or you manage the project for them, making sure all is on deadline, again for a small fee. One thing to remember though, ensure that they are also reliable and professional about the work. It’s one thing to help out a friend, but when it comes to work, professionalism has to take precedence. After all, it’s your company’s reputation that will suffer accordingly. Lay it out clearly and things will go smoothly (we hope!).

7.)Updated Portfolio/website:

Yes, we are all guilty of that (I admit that we are also struggling to keep up with this), but keeping it updated is a great way to showcase your active projects. Using social/new media to keep things updated (without having to change your site umpteen times) is a great time saver and another way to interact with people and potential clients.

8.) Pimp it out:

This is something that creative entrepreneurs (whatever your scale) need to do. Using transmedia smartly is an effective way to get your work and messages across, and to interact with your community and potential (and existing clients). If you don’t promote your skills and your creative work, who will?

These are just some of the basic points that both Maria and many others have advised small businesses, especially creative ones. We try to keep to as many points as possible within the range of manageability. So returning to the question: Can we do this in Malaysia successfully? I think the answer is yes. Being a creative entrepreneur takes drive, determination, creative flair and attention to detail. Our industry, in order to grow and mature, needs to drop the diva attitude. Work has to be constant, not just one big project and that’s all. Grow by all means but steadily and consistently. Gaining funding is a useful thing yes but it is meant to be a stepping stone. There are far too many who rely on funding to sustain their business but wait for the “next step” to be told to them, rather than having planned that out and GOING for it. It’s about working smartly. Maintain that professionalism and keeping to deadlines etc- this goes a long while in improving the reputation of the creative industry.

There will be good days and there will be crazy days where you feel as if you are on a hamster wheel, running and yet seemingly going nowhere. Slot in time for family time and “me” time amidst all that craziness as we all need recharging from time to time. Be aware that sometimes you just need to walk away from a problem, breathe and come back to it. A great example of how someone has scheduled both work, personal projects and family time is the creator of the Wormworld Saga (http://www.wormworldsaga.com/). Follow his blog and see how he manages to do things, it’s truly inspirational and slightly scary too!

This article isn’t meant as a lecture and a “how-to” article. It is just some things that many of us in the creative field need to think seriously about and continue to struggle with. I would like to see the day where we can stand up with pride and point to the many successes out there, where we see the quality of their work first, not just for clients but their own creative content. I would like to see a stronger story tellers movement where story is king, not just pretty pictures. I would like to see a time where we get awed by what we are watching or reading and then only it hits us, oh wow, it’s made by Malaysians, rather than getting beat on the head about Malaysia and Malaysiana. We have an amazing amount of creative talent in our country and we need to showcase that, think global, not just local. We can be bigger than that. Why not work together to make that happen, rather than as a fragmented community? After all, why fight for a smaller section of the pond, when you could instead make the pond grow bigger and bigger and be the envy of other ponds elsewhere? Before I end, here is the quote that hopefully will also inspire you:

“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable. “ – Christopher Reeve, actor, From speech at Democratic National Convention, August 1996

So go out there, live your dreams and keep on creating!

Support the Malaysian Games and Comics Convention, Dec 2011, Where all your heroes are. http://mgccon.org

Once, I too identified and perceived Love to be what it is to most people. I don’t claim to know what it is today, but I do see it for what it isn’t and how ‘other things’ are believed and perceived to be Love.

Ask anyone about Love and they’ll have something if not lots to say about it. Their idea of what Love is. What Love means to them.

I was a victim of Love. And I paid the price. I walked through the fire. I burnt while I slept. And it’s true, what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger. My strength lies in me surviving Love.

No longer will I ever put another up on a pedestal in the name of Love. That pedestal is mine.

The turn around did not happen over night as you might guess. It took aloneness, questioning my motives and why I had indulged in the relationships that I did, why I did the things I did, why I accepted the things that happened, why I chose to walk forward when I saw at the start what I experienced later. I was certain the answers were within me. I took the responsibility, I blamed no one. I understood that no one can make me do or feel anything. Only I could.

But like everything in life, this ‘understanding’ has come with a price, for today I am regarded as cold, odd, not normal, strange. I no longer play the game of Love ‘right’.

I learnt a great lesson two years ago from a friend. His name is Tim. He said, for the majority of people they seek another to fill the void, the space within them. And most often the other manages to fill it very well. But only for a certain amount of time. Then the void starts to appear, begins to be felt again. Arguments start. The void feels even bigger now. The other falls even shorter of filling this space. Two people ‘should’ enter a relationship when they are complete. Until then, they should not enter a relationship. Tim said, imagine a relationship where two people are complete, not seeking anything to fill their voids because there was none to fill?

I don’t think Tim would have thought I took his words or his question so seriously, but I did. I chose to because what he said had planted a seed within me.

Love means different things to people. But for all the differences, the biggest similarity lies in this; the search for love, lies beyond one’s self. We use different words to describe this. One such word is companionship. But if this was true, we’d be just as happy being with people whom we love, than that one person. Society has groomed us to think of ourselves as failures if we are alone and we have believed this. Self-love was never programmed into our psyche. Hence, the Void.

Once, I was ‘normal’ or at least my idea of Love was similar with the masses. Today, Love simply is. I can love you, but I do not have to tolerate certain things about you. I love you, but I do not need to say it everyday unless I want to. I love you but I do not need to validate this Love due to your insecurity. You either believe it, or you don’t. I have nothing to do with this. I do not prove my love because you are expecting and need me to. I love you but I do not need to be with you.

I know it isn’t easy hearing this from someone whom you love, especially if you’re used to doing all the above. Especially if your idea of Love is that.

Masaru Emoto’s water crystals have proven that feelings such as Love, can exist and be felt by water, even when separated by huge distances. And we consists mainly of water. Rilke quoted, ‘The only journey is the one within’. The abundance lies within. Love lies within us. Lord Buddha said, all attachments lead to suffering. Even the attachment to outbound Love. ‘Anything that we depend on beyond ourselves to make us feel good and safe, is undependable.’ Krishnamurti.

I stepped back, read, digested, watched and contemplated the words of the great philiosophers, gurus, poets, artists, people and replayed my behavior and beliefs of what Love is. I saw and (continue to see) how distorted and convoluted it was. The biggest flaw and revelation was that Love was an idea. Striving to live the idea of Love. I look back and I note when this started. When I was a little girl. I was rewarded if I was a good girl. Just being called a good girl was enough to keep me trying to aim to hear it more often. The good girl was a projected image of my self. Deep down I had always been good. But from an early age, I was ‘taught’ that what I do or say decided if I am good. I was also told to think of others all the time. And all the time I tried my best to. As an adult, in relationships, I continued putting them first before me. When the relationship failed, I was devastated. I plummeted. So deep I understood darkness. This was when I walked through the fire. It was also when the Void was biggest.

To love someone, is a growing up. I learnt this the hard way. I saw how I was needy, how I manipulated what I did and said, all in the name of Love, all because I wanted Love. It wasn’t love. It was insecurity.

The void, it lived in me for many years.

For the longest time.

But today, it no longer does.

Not anymore.

Love simply is.

I may not be complete yet, but I am not in search for another.

If you’ve come to me for your idea of Love, I shall disappoint you.

I know, because I was once you.

Today, I am.

One night, I spoke to the moon, when she was full.
She looked really at peace amidst the dark sky.
She appeared almost completely white, and she illuminated such light,
I was in awe. I wanted to know her secret.

I asked her, ‘ Aren’t you afraid of the darkness? ‘

The moon replied;

‘ Do you really believe that which you only are able to see? Do you forget that I glow just as brightly when the Sun blinds me? Do you only notice my existence when it is dark?

I am one in too many existing moons, but because you can only see me, you consider me special. I am special, but not for being the only one. I , have no fear of the vast darkness which surrounds me. In fact, I thank darkness everyday for my existence. We all need darkness to remind us of the light we are. From where I am in the sky, you glow so bright, possibly brighter than I am. Likewise, amidst the darkness, this is how I know you exist. There is beauty in darkness and that beauty is you.”

In the first segment of this two-part article, I wanted to interview a recent influence on the way I think or approach our creative consultancy and Maria Brophy kindly agreed. What she tweets or blogs about definitely are subjects that our local creative industry should consider, in particular those who create and market their own IPs. I hope that you will take away the same “ah-ha!” moments that I have gotten from reading her work.

1.What made you decide to pursue the artist representation route and to educate others?
I started working with my husband, artist Drew Brophy, about twelve years ago part time. Back then, I was working in the insurance industry and doing well financially, but I didn’t love my job. Eventually, Drew convinced me to leave the corporate world to work with him full time. The idea was that with me handling the marketing and business end of things, Drew could focus on painting more and we would double or triple the amount of work produced with two heads rather than one.

2. I first heard the term “Creative entrepreneur” via your web site. Could you tell us more about that term?
I felt that the phrase “creative entrepreneur” explains my target audience, which is someone who wants to create for a living.

Creative people, regardless of their medium, all face similar challenges, like how to handle rejection, how to price their work, what to do when they are ripped off. At first I thought my core audience was traditional artists, but found that the feedback I got was from people from many different backgrounds. The topics I write about are dealt with by most entrepreneurs, or people who are working for themselves, or who dream of doing so. I find myself drawn to helping people who long to make a living being creative. That includes writers, sculptors, musicians, or anything. I, too, fall into that category of a creative entrepreneur. I’m not an artist, but I design my job as I go. I may not paint, but I’m creating new things every day.

3. What are the many pitfalls faced by creative people, in particular artists and what are some of the ways they can get past those stumbling blocks?
The biggest pitfall is the need to be loved and accepted by others. It is so hard to put yourself out there, either in the form of a painting or writing, and be wide open to criticism. Every time I write something controversial, I am afraid to hit the “publish” button. It’s hard for us humans to be okay with criticism and to continue on our paths regardless of what people say. But continue on we should, because if you look back on some of the most relevant artists in the past, they all were criticized in the beginning, as they were greatly misunderstood. There’s only one way to get past that pitfall; to just ignore the nay-sayers and do that which you are driven to do. Cultivate the confidence to be who you are. And if you have trouble with confidence, practice it until it becomes second nature.

4. What is a typical day in the Brophy household routine?
I wake up at 5:30 so I can do my yoga, meditating and journaling before Drew and our nine-year-old son wake up at 7:00. It’s Drew’s job to take Dylan to school at 7:35 every morning, and I pick him up in the afternoon. Drew and I spend most of our day at the studio, which is only a mile from our home. Once we get to work, there is no routine! It’s different every day, week and month. We are always busy, even during our slow months. Sometimes it just gets so crazy, trying to keep up with all the projects we are working on.

5. How has social/new media helped you and your business?
It’s helped us connect directly with Drew’s fans and has given him a vehicle to communicate with them. It’s also opened up a lot of media interviews, both in print and online. That has been really wonderful.

6. Many artists wonder if pimping their work constitutes over-promotion- is there such a thing?
For everyone it’s different. I believe that you have to decide what you want for your own career. Some artists want their work to be exclusive and only sold in galleries. If that works for you, then do it. We haven’t made enough money in galleries to survive off of that business model. We like to take on most of the opportunities offered to us for Drew’s artwork. Drew will accept commissions to paint just about anything, as long as the customer wants it in his style. Where he draws the line is that he won’t paint something in another artists’ style, and he won’t paint something that he absolutely doesn’t want to paint. He says that it just won’t be of good quality, and he’ll usually refer it out to another artist. If a company wants to print Drew’s art on kid’s boogie boards, Drew’s feeling is that it will bring joy to kids. And in his mind, that can’t be a bad thing.

I can only think of one artist that I have ever thought was over-exposed, and that’s Ed Hardy. The only reason I feel that way about him is that I’ve seen his artwork on low quality items in the liquor store down the street from me, and I’ve seen it on $90 t-shirts in boutiques. I don’t think that’s a good plan, going high quality and then low quality. But so far, he’s still selling strong, so maybe it doesn’t matter if anyone thinks he’s overexposed. People are still buying his stuff.

7. Does the support of your partner/family help a great deal in pursuing those creative dreams, in your opinion/experience?
Absolutely. If you have someone to support you, either through encouragement or financial, you are going to be able to go so much further in art career, so much quicker. But, for those artists who don’t have the support of their families, I would recommend this: Spend less time with your family, and more time with like-minded people. As a matter of fact, move away from the people who are discouraging you and spend all your time with those who encourage you. Seek them out. It will make the difference between success and failure.

8. What advice would you have for new artists starting out?
The best advice I can ever give is this: Spend time thinking about what you want; Where you want to be; Who you want to meet. Dream about what you want to create and how you want your career to go. Then write it down. Make lists of these things. Trust that it will happen. Enjoy the journey. And know that there is no finish line. You’ll die with a list of things to do, everyone does. Have to have fun along the way. The more fun you’re having, the more things will come to you. It’s a choice, you know. Everything you do is a choice.

ABOUT MARIA BROPHY – An advocate for artists, Maria Brophy has helped many artists to become adept at handling the business of art and create success for themselves. In a few short years, she used her expertise in art marketing and licensing to build up Drew Brophy’s surf lifestyle art brand, earning him the status of being the top licensed surf artist in history. Maria writes an art business blog on http://www.mariabrophy.com with the intention of helping creative people to design the career and lifestyle of their dreams. Maria Brophy’s vision is that all creative people get to live the life of their dreams and make a good living doing it. And she’s going to do everything she can to see it through.

Find Maria Here:
Blog: http://www.mariabrophy.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/mariabrophy
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-Lifestyle-Inspiration-with-Maria-Brophy/205275597570

I walked a path for years.
It was mostly dark, most
days, I could
hardly see the sun,
for the trees, they were sheltering her rays.
There were flowers of exotic varieties.
I had never seen anything like them before.

Their colour was always a brilliant red.
Against the dark trees, they resembled rubies.
I also saw animals.
But only monkeys, swinging on the trees.
Many times I strayed from the path, as I wanted to pet them.
And many times I did.
I also plucked those flowers, as I couldn’t
keep my hands and eyes off them.
Their scent was sweet smelling like candy floss.
The path itself though, was mostly muddy,
I lost my shoes without realizing.
I never seemed to be able to walk for long.
Twice, I had stepped on quick sand.
I didn’t cry out for help, perhaps because I
never saw anyone, I had only seen monkeys.
Just as I believed I would become one with the earth,
a hand grabbed mine.
Til’ this day, I have
no idea who saved me.

This path, it has now ended.

It came to an end when I chose to stop walking.
I sat in silence, with
my eyes wide shut.

I saw a vast land
with clear blue skies.
So vast this land was, I couldn’t see its end.
The oak trees were towering and a few.
They seemed to be trying to reach the skies.
The sun,
she shone glistening rays.
I was bathed in warmth, while the breeze was cool.
I didn’t see any monkeys, only birds
and unicorns.
The birds, they looked like pelicans.
When they weren’t in the skies, I saw them swimming
in a lake.
The earth, it was filled with grass so soft,
it made my feet believe it was
walking on a velvety lush carpet instead.
Dandelions, they danced gracefully like ballerinas
flying high, doing somersaults in the air.

There was no one there,
only me. And I
loved it.

Today, I live in this land.

The path, it no longer exists.

Perhaps it never really did.